Cop Land (1997)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

James Mangold

Writer (WGA):

James Mangold (written by)

Release Date:

15 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

No One Is Above The Law.

Plot:

The sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community populated by New York City policeman slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Police | New York | Corruption | Internal Affairs

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Freddy Heflin
Harvey Keitel	...	Ray Donlan
Ray Liotta	...	Gary Figgis
Robert De Niro	...	Moe Tilden
Peter Berg	...	Joey Randone
Janeane Garofalo	...	Deputy Cindy Betts
Robert Patrick	...	Jack Rucker
Michael Rapaport	...	Murray Babitch
Annabella Sciorra	...	Liz Randone
Noah Emmerich	...	Deputy Bill Geisler
Cathy Moriarty	...	Rose Donlan
John Spencer	...	Leo Crasky
Frank Vincent	...	PDA President Lassaro
Malik Yoba	...	Detective Carson
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Frank Lagonda

Also Known As:

CopLand (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, strong language and brief nudity. (also collector's series)

Runtime:

104 min | USA:116 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #35498) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | South Korea:12 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Mexico:B | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Cliffside Park, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

All the actors in the film worked for scale due to the film's budget.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Freddy heads into NYC to meet with Tilden and IA, he walks under a PATH train sign as he walks up a stairway and then is right in the heart of City Hall and One Police Plaza, so the premise is that he took the PATH train from Hoboken to City Hall/One Police Plaza area - that isn't possible. The Path train would let him off a few blocks away at the World Trade Center area. In reality, Stallone was walking out of a subway station in City Hall with a fake PATH sign added by the director.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Moe Tilden: [narrating] Every precinct has its cop bar - a private club - all blue. For the 3-7 it was the Four Aces, just across the river.

Movie Connections:

References Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Soundtrack:

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Stallone's comeback not for the ignorants

I know that everyboby's laughing about a movie that Stallone's starring in. His name is an easy target even to the most ignorant ones; they immediately put him under the 'action movie' label, like Arnold or Jean-Claude. What people forget (or don't know) about is that Stallone differs from all those action movie actors, in that he turned into this icon we all know by making a series of (really) bad choices. Do you know that Sly's the one who wrote the script of the Oscar winning Rocky? Do you know that because his face is half paralyzed (from birth) he speaks in that weird way that some people find difficult to understand what he's saying (and always joke about it)? Do you know that he was paid only $60.000 for his acting in Cop Land, while he had to gain 30 pounds for his role?

To me Cop land is the kind of movie Stallone should have made after First Blood. The director knows what Sly's really capable of so he gives him this role of the cop that is so fair and just, but inside him a burning past lives on. He's a hero and because of that he's lost half of his hearing to save the woman he loves, but she went on to marry another man. He can't be promoted because of his hearing, and while he wants to stay integral, he has to face the deeds of his fellow police officers.

The movie showcases the struggle of a man to overcome his past, the temptation of corruption and the triumph of one's will to remain true to what he believes in. The final sequence is similar to the one's of The Unforgiven or Taxi Driver and it provides a hymn to the human spirit. Stallone's perfomance is unforgettable and he should be nominated for an academy award. Do you think that it's an accident that his performance overshadows De Niro's and Keitel's appearences?

I believe that if Stallone did a movie like that right after his first 2 triumphs he could be leading a career similar to the one of De Niro's. But unfortunately, to all of us Sly's only capable of throwing hand grenades. Right Leonard Maltin?